My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Compete

To my fellow students, I would like to say that I have enjoyed working with you this semester. I felt like we were all learning this together and I appreciate your cooperation and openness as a group. To Ashley Reed, I would like to say, thanks for helping me set up my blog. To April and Ashley, I enjoyed working with you on our group project. You guys are great! To Mr. Sullivan, thanks for the patience and encouragement. A few words can go a long way. May blessings and success follow each one of you throughout your college years and may your dreams of your chosen professions come true.

Proverbs 3:5-6 PEACE!

What I Learned

When I enrolled in this class, I did not know what to expect. I had taken this class before and I dropped it because the teacher went too fast and did not listen to her students. Well, this time was totally different. I was able to learn so much and I believe that this class has made me a much better preparred person in so many ways. First of all, I learned lo much about Google. I did not know what a blog was before I came to this class. Now I have two and even my husband has learned about blogs and he has two as well. I learned how to do presentation slide shows, spreadsheets to keep track of grades,etc. and how to teach using podcasts. I was introduced to twitter as well, but I see little merit in it to me as a teacher. However, the iTunes adds a new rich level of information that both I and my students can use in the classroom. I can download podcasts to broaden me as a teacher as well as teach my students how to access and do podcasts to enhance themselves as students. I am excited about using the ALEX or Alabama Learning Exchange to communicate and gain an understanding of better teaching strategies and resources. ACCESS distance learning will be a major player in education nationwide and I was glad to hear that Alabama is the first state to use this technology statewide. I never thought about accessibility issues until I came to this class. However, I am glad that I did. I think that this is an important issue and that the technology that is out there should be available to everyone. I did not know that there was such things as html tag modifiers and our teacher has introduced us to many ways that the internet has become more accessible. I do, however, agree that more awareness should be raised about this subject overall.
This course has truly raised my wareness of who I am as a professional. EDM 310 has trained me to think professionally concerning technology and its use in the classroom. I feel that I am armed with a very powerful tool tol teach with and to reach students who would otherwise not catch on to what I am teaching.
I would have liked to have learned more about the STI Classroom software and how to use spreadsheets to calculate actual grades, but other than that I cannot think of any other thing that I lack from taking this class. There is not one thing that I learned that I would like to forget because all of this knowledge is relevant to me in some way, even twitter. Although I doubt that I would use it very much, at least I am familiar with it and how its used.

The Use of Blogs in International Classrooms

At the ACS Egham International School in London, England, students who are learning English for the first time are gaining much confidence in their abilities through the use of podcasts in their classrooms. Many of these students' parents are foreign to England and they want their children to learn the language early. The school serves youngsters from ages 2 1/2 to 18. Ms. Wendy Brandse says that her second grade class gets really excited at putting on podcasts. According to her, they get a chance to have some control over what they are learning and it builds confidence in their ability to learn a new language. The children were quickly able to improve their language skills by recording,listening, and editing their work. The podcast program has proved an important motivator for the students.